The cochlear implant is surgically placed behind the ear through a small incision under the skin. The device’s electrode is then inserted into the inner ear.On July 4, 2020, one little girl experienced a life-changing evening that some of us might take for granted. Do you ever find yourself ready to fall asleep on Independence Day but have trouble drifting off because the neighbor, two houses down, is still shooting off fireworks at 11:00pm? Most of us have been there, except those who cannot hear the fireworks. But this year was different for Emmalyn.
Emmalyn was born profoundly deaf. But Emmalyn is able to hear with the aid of cochlear implants. What are cochlear implants? Cochlear implants, which were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) more than 40 years ago, are surgically implanted devices that provide sound representation to people who cannot benefit from hearing aids. The implants do not cure hearing impairment; rather, the device directly stimulates the auditory pathway. Cochlear implants replace the function of the damaged inner ear to provide sound signals to the brain for processing.
Cochlear implants have come a long way since the first recipient of the earliest version of the technology received an implant in 1977. In the more than 40 years since that revolutionary milestone, the precision of this technology and process has been fine-tuned, and more than 500,000 people with hearing loss have benefited from cochlear implants worldwide. As is often the case when technology advances, the devices are now smaller and smarter. They are comprised of two components, which work like this:
1) Internal electrode array. The internal electrode array is implanted by an ear, nose and throat surgeon, also called an otolaryngologist, into the inner ear.
2) External sound processor. The microphones on the external sound processor detect sounds and transfer those sounds through the skin to the internal electrode array. Two options are available for the external sound processor: a behind-the-ear option that sits atop the ear and looks similar to a traditional behind-the-ear hearing aid and an off-the-ear option. The internal electrode array then stimulates the auditory nerve directly and transmits the sound to the brain for processing.